Past to present

The site is now stacked with Vestas wind turbine tower elements to provide renewable energy. The floor surfaces are corroded, damaged and ponded with water. The overall environment is cluttered and the modern equipment does not fit in the site. The distinctive industrial atmosphere was submerged. The site is inaccessible to visitors and the huge space is single-functional, disconnected from its surroundings by dense vegetation. There is a collision between the old and the new, the vitality and silence.

In 1936, the dock had been built for only five years. The west side was still farmland without commercial buildings such as Braehead shopping centre, IKEA or the belt woodland adjacent. The east of the dock was vacant land and was not occupied by industry then. Across the riverbank were always factories. There was less vegetation then than now, and less pollution from industrial and commercial activities.

The changes between 2002 and 2005 were mainly the expansion of the hard surface on the northeast side into industrial use. Surrounding commercial structures were increased, such as car sales outlets.

Between 2005 and 2006 the north-western of the hardscape continued to expand, the road next to Woodland developed and infrastructures including a football field and a bistro were subdivided in the south-western area. There is a piece of tree missing from the woodland.

The commercial demand expanded further with new commercial buildings and car parks

9 King George V Dock satellite map Image, Google Earth, 12/2002

10 King George V Dock satellite map Image, Google Earth, 04/2005

11 King George V Dock satellite map Image, Google Earth, 12/2006

12 King George V Dock satellite map Image, Google Earth, 05/2009

13 King George V Dock satellite map Image, Google Earth, 05/2020

14 King George V Dock satellite map Image, Google Earth, 07/2021

15 Fieldwork sequential photos Photography, Xueyan Li, 2022 to the south of IKEA between 2006 and 2009. One of the sheds on the dock was demolished. A waste station has appeared on the land along the river.

By 2020 the block on the east end of the dock had been demolished, becoming unmanaged and unoccupied. The piles of waste at the north end were cleared.

By 2021, the structure at the northern disappeared. Some Vestas wind turbine tower elements appear on the dock, which shows the demand for renewable energy and carbon reduction.

Sequential photos show the current condition. The chimney structures towering within the eastern land have become historical landmarks. This field is under construction with some discarded boards and steel materials stacked inside. The dock is separated from the city by the belt of woodland. The industrial area and remains of the opposite bank can be seen from the green space along the river, which is also hydrophilic, with natural topography and vegetation.

Both photographs are views of the industrial area on the opposite side of the river, in 2011 and 2022 respectively. The crane has always been there and has acted as a landmark. The factories and remains have changed slightly and the industrial atmosphere is still pretty strong.

Treib said 'Like memory itself, the study of memory resembles an onion with its countless layers to be peeled away in search of its core.’ Our excavation of history and memory is meaningful, especially before intervention. Ruins and eroded environments have an evocative power to evoke memories and imagery, and the concept of ruins is employed to postpone the fading of memories. Romanticism suggests that ruins imbue the landscape with a sense of history and value (Treib, 2009). Architecture and landscape are in a way constituted by memory. As people visit, they can imagine their relationship to the place and perceive what once happened there. In terms of Treib, 'places' are spaces that allow people to remember, imagine and think. These are areas that can resonate with associations and make people feel pleasant. The experience of a place will evoke visits, memories or expectations we already had, along with images and descriptions we have come across in books or on the Internet, which all come to mind for comparison. The memory is based on the public's shared understanding of a particular place. Our task as designers is to construct forms and relationships in which people move and engage in landscapes, think about how to attract and direct the audience's attention and find ways to make places memorable.

Every place has a story to tell. People's connections to places evolve, as told via stories. They assist in transforming environments into lived-in places that are rich in meaning and value (Ball-Rokeach, Kim and Matei, 2001). Stories can help communities express their collective attachments, hopes, and goals for their everyday spaces, encouraging active engagement in processes aimed at imagining alternative futures (Sandercock, 2003).

This sketch shows my thinking about the relationship between space and place. The space becomes alive with memory elements and is enriched by personal emotions.

'Memory’ is a pretty subjective entity: some decision-makers probably assume that it is ambiguous or subjective to translate memory into impactful approaches within urban design. I acknowledge the subjectivity, but it provides a cultural grounding and a point of penetration for design. I am endorsed by designs embedded in memory and oppose projects without respect for history and culture. I always maintain sensitivity to the memory of the landscape and sensitivity to culture. My goal is to give the site a real sense of place.